The Friendship Files: Chocolate Cure
by LanieSullivan
Summary: New entry in "The Friendship Files." Extended tag for "Wrong Number" in which Lee attempts to get Francine to open up about her abduction. Francine, however, has other ideas.


Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Author's Note: So, this is the newest in my "Friendship Files." Two of the three previous ones were about Lee being given advice from Francine. Now, it's time for Lee to try to return the favor.

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Francine perused the selections in the vending machine in front of her and let out a deep sigh when none of them appealed to her. She was in dire need of chocolate after her ordeal in Afghanistan before she was forced to talk about in Pfaff's office an hour from now. It couldn't be just _any_ chocolate. She grimaced at the lack of imagination of the vendors who filled The Agency's break room machines. As she stepped to the next one, she thought longingly of the box of DeVaronna chocolates hidden away in her bottom desk drawer that Amanda had given her after their time locked in a freezer together. She knew though that if she opened that box in the bullpen, she'd be swarmed by the other occupants of the bullpen and she wasn't about to share her favorite chocolates with anyone...Well, except maybe Amanda.

 _Where did that come from?_ She wondered. She smiled slightly in spite of her surprise at her own thoughts of Amanda. While they'd been stuffing themselves with Chinese food in the Q Bureau, she'd heard all about how Amanda had busted her ass to get to the truth and find a way to rescue her. She chuckled softly to herself as she recalled when she had walked into the bullpen earlier and had heard that Scarecrow and Mrs. King had had a blazing screaming match about it. She couldn't help being amused by that and wished she'd been there to see it. She could just picture the annoyed look on Lee's face with Amanda giving him her patented would-you just-shut-up and listen-to me "mom" look. She chuckled again, immensely grateful that the room was empty due to it being long past lunchtime when the place would be packed.

"What's so funny?" A low baritone voice said behind her.

"ARGH," Francine jumped, whirled around poised for a fight, and found herself face to face with a grinning Lee.

Lee chortled at the look on her face, reminded of all the times that Amanda had admonished him for sneaking up on her and said, "Did I scare you?"

"No," she denied. "I...um...I just didn't hear you come in." She then turned from him and continued her search.

Lee laughed and quipped, "I don't know, Francine, you looked pretty startled to me," as he slipped up behind her. "Maybe you've been in the office too long. I'm thinking you might need a refresher course or two to sharpen those skills up a bit."

Francine whirled on him and snarled defensively, "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" It was bad enough that she was already feeling down on herself for letting herself get captured. She didn't need more ridicule from him.

At seeing the ferocious look on her face, Lee stepped back from her and held his hands up in surrender. "Relax, it was just a joke."

"Yeah, well, I've got enough jokers downstairs talking about how I'm losing it! On top of that, I've got Billy jumping down my throat for going and Abernathy is gloating about how if he hadn't come down with that damn Turkish flu, he'd have made it the simple milk run it was supposed to be! I don't need crap from you too! I will have you know that my skills are just as sharp as they ever were!" She glowered at him.

Lee shifted awkwardly at her dressing him down with her eyes like a fierce drill sergeant who was tough on his men just to keep them alive once bullets started flying. "I...Uh...I..."

"You what? You have something else to say?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry," Lee answered sheepishly. He then smiled at her, reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and said, "How about a peace offering?"

Francine's eyes widened greedily as she looked at the large chocolate bar in his hand. "Ghirardelli dark chocolate with caramel," she said, unable to tear her eyes away from it.

"I know it's not the European chocolate that you normally favor, but if it helps at all, it was invented by an Italian guy." Lee shrugged as he held it out to her. "I...uh...I haven't been in Europe for a while now, so I thought this would be the next best thing."

"Thank you," Francine replied with a genuine friendly smile.

"I...Um...I also thought you might need someone to...you know...talk to...about what happened, I mean." He nodded toward one of the empty tables in the room.

As they sat down together and Francine tore into the chocolate with gusto, she asked with the defensive tone back in her voice, "What makes you think that?"

"Francine, come on, I've been to Afghanistan and it's no trip to Europe," Lee said pointedly.

"What's up with that anyway?" She inquired in an attempt to change the subject as she chewed thoughtfully.

"What's up with what?" Lee looked at her in bewilderment.

"You just said it. You haven't been to Europe for a while. Over a year, if memory serves me correctly. You used to be the guy who'd beg for overseas assignments, but in the last year, you've turned down a lot of those types of jobs."

"No, I haven't," Lee denied as he squirmed in his seat, "the opportunities just haven't come up."

"You're a rotten poker player, Stetson," Francine countered. "Try that line on someone who doesn't have access to the duty rosters. One advantage of spending too much time in the office; I know who gets offered what assignments, who turns them down and who they get assigned to in the end. So, why?"

"I didn't come here to talk about me," Lee replied, his tone now becoming the defensive one. "I came here to talk about you and make sure that you're okay." He nodded toward the fading bruise on her face.

"Oh, no, you don't. You want me to talk about me, you're gonna' have to earn it," She gave him an inquisitive look and waited as she broke off another piece of the chocolate. After she finished the square of chocolate, she added, "So, spill."

Lee sighed as he realized she wasn't going to let him off the hook. "I...Uh-I don't know. I guess I just feel like sticking closer to home these days."

"Mm-hmm," she fixed him with a piercing, knowing look, "...And would that home that you feel like sticking close to happen to be located in Arlington?"

Lee shifted again, crossing and then uncrossing his legs, looking anywhere but at her. He cleared his throat loudly and answered, "I-I-I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do," she argued.

"No, I don't." When Francine's probing gaze never left his, he attempted to defend himself. "I'm just being a good partner. The trips to Europe were hard on Amanda last time because she has kids at home and I don't wanna' leave her here without someone to watch her back."

"Uh-huh," she said disbelievingly. "It seems you've become quite fond of "watching her back." She paused for a beat to make sure he got her meaning and just looked at him. She couldn't help noticing the faint blush that crept into his cheeks and grinned, then switched gears. She was dying to know about the fight they had in her absence. "So, I heard you and Amanda had quite the fight while I was gone. Maybe _you're_ the one who really needs to talk."

"Not really." He shrugged as if it didn't matter, but it had bothered him more than he liked that they'd been so at odds and even worse, that he'd second-guessed his intuitive partner. He should have known that she was right. She always had a knack for spotting things that others didn't. "Yes, we had a fight, but it's over now and we're okay."

"Is that okay on a professional level..." She caught his eye again and then added, "Or on a personal one."

"Look, what do you want me to say, Francine? Amanda and I are..." He sighed, raked a hand through his hair, rose from his seat, kicking the chair aside as he did so and began pacing. "I don't know what we are, okay? I just know that I hate it when we fight. I hate saying good-bye to her at the end of the day and I..." He halted in his pacing and fixed her with a steely gaze. "You know what, I don't wanna' talk about this anymore. I just thought you might need a friend after what you've been through, but if you don't need me, that's just fine!" He started to head for the door, but was halted by her voice behind him.

"Lee..." she said softly. When he turned, she continued, "I appreciate the thought and this..." she held up the remainder of the chocolate bar."But I'm just not ready to talk about it yet." Lee nodded in understanding. "Billy's set me up a mandatory appointment with Pfaff and maybe...maybe after I talk to him and...And figure out how to deal with it...then...maybe."

Lee nodded again and replied, "Yeah. I hear ya'." He smiled at her. "Well, if you need me, you know where to find me."

Francine nodded in return. "Yeah, I do." She waited until Lee was almost out the door and added, "In Arlington."

Lee smiled, but didn't turn around, just shook his head as he made his way to the elevator that would take him back upstairs to his partner.

Francine let out a soft laugh as she noticed that Lee had briefly halted at her last words, glanced down at the chocolate in front of her smiling a real smile for the first time since her abduction, her own fear that she was losing it dissipating. Her mind drifted back to her childhood for just a moment and Moline in the kitchen telling her that chocolate was the cure for everything. "Boy, was she right about that," she mused as she polished off the rest of the chocolate then rose from her seat, tossed the wrapper in the nearest trashcan and headed the opposite direction Lee had gone to take her to her appointment with Dr. Pfaff.


End file.
